https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/new-footage-emerges-tesco-lorry-7077042 (https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/new-footage-emerges-tesco-lorry-7077042)
QuoteNew footage has emerged showing how the Tesco lorry which was stuck down a narrow side street for 15 hours yesterday (May 13) was rescued.
The lorry driver found his vehicle in Upper Cheltenham Place in Montpelier, and then turned right down Brook Hill - where the lorry became very much stuck. Local residents said the lorry arrived at just before 7am, and it was there for the rest of the day and into the evening.
Tesco used to employ only experienced drivers. Now they will put any bum on a seat. In many cases they are using "contractors" who turn up in their own trucks, show no paperwork at all (licence, CPC card, DigiCard, or even permission to work in this country).
In this case the vehicle looks to be a Tesco one. However the driver could be recently qualified or a barely assessed agency driver who presented no references other than that provided by the agency.
Deliveries to express stores in inner city and residential areas are a challenging operation for any driver. Would you be sending the above?
There are thousands of individual items in that truck. Merely adding 1p to each would easily cover the cost of employing suitable drivers.
Drivers are supposed to follow set routes to stores but many now choose to do their own thing. We often have trucks u-turning outside our store as the corporate route is physically longer than the most direct route.
Tesco is the first UK supermarket to put an electric 40-tonne Volvo on the road (https://www.commercialmotor.com/news/article/tesco-is-first-uk-supermarket-to-put-electric-40-tonne-volvo-on-the-road)
Quotecarrying ambient grocery items seven days a week.
giving it a range of approximately 300km
It will be double-shifted, and is expected to cover approximately 70,000 miles annually.
double shift, 7 days a week, 70,000 miles, I make that round trips of approx 95 miles or only 47.5 miles from DC.
Journey time 3 hours + 1hour turnaround, 16 hours a day parked up.
It's probably a step in the right direction, but the 300km range... if you read the Volvo spec that's for a 6 legger rigid so 26t, not an artic at 40t! Not sure of the furthest store for Thurrock, but Hunstanton is 119 miles/191km & that's sometimes on a split load, then of course we have the likes of tail lifts, double deckers and air conditioning drawing power so I'm not convinced these new trucks will be able to "tackle any assignment effectively" - probably why the article fails to mention that the depot delivers to Cambridgeshire & Norfolk!